Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1887-09-16
The New Insane Asylum.

The New Insane Asylum.
A reporter Of the Tacoma News
visited the new Hospital for the In
sane, at Fort Steilacoom, few days
ago, and following is a statement of
what he saw while there:
The site chosen for the building is
an admirable one, it being in natural
park of fir and oak trees that cast a
delightful shade around them. The
soil is gravelly and porous.
The new building is of brick, the style
of architecture being modified Gothic.
The plan adopted is that of a three
story main structure with two wings,
and a separate building for laundry and
similar purposes. The main portion
is As feet wide and y feet long. Each
wing is 40 feet wide and 16S feet long.
The whole forms structure AS feet
in length. There is a basement under
the entire building and a tower over
the main part of it, the top of which
is 80 feet from the ground. The whole
PRESENTS STRIKING APPEARANCE,
And impresses the beholder with its
massiveness. The first floor of the
main building is arranged for the ex-
ecutive offices, reception room, drug
store, accountants room and lavatories.
The second floor of the central struc-
ture is designed as dwelling apartments
for the superintendent and his asso-
ciates. The third floor is to be used for
an assembly room, is 45x75 feet and is
fitted up with Il stage and scenery for
theatrical performances. The walls
and ceiling are frescoed and laid out in
panels. The room is II very attractive
one.
In the two three-story wings men,
toned are the patients quarters.
The wards are arranged with
12-foot corridor running the full length
OF them, and having midway a large
space called the day room In this
and in the corridors the patients will
walk and lounge about. On either
side of the corridors are placed
the dormatories; the rooms on one
side are small and contain only one bed.
These are for the refractory patients.
On the other side of the corridors are
three large dormatories to be used for
associated beds. The better class of
patients will sleep in the large rooms.
Each of the wards have one dining
room 14x42 feet, furnished with an
ELEVATOR which, operates from the base
ment. They contain also warming
tables for the food. Also water closets,
bath rooms, dust and dirty clothes
chutes. At each end of the wings are
THE ATTENDANTS ROOMS,
Which are connected with the CEN
trail Office by speaking tubes; there is
also Il complete system of these tubes
through the entire building.
All of the ward windows are protect
ed on the inside by wire screens made
of No. II steel. This arrangement is
as strong as iron bars would be and
looks much better. taking away the
prison appearance by barred windows
Over each room door is a transom
with wire grating, and under the door
is a space of about one inch between it
and the floor, thus providing free Cir
culation of air. .t
At the rear of the central building
and connected with it by an inclosed
brick corridor, is the attendants quar-
ters, their bedrooms, bath rooms,
etc. In the rear part of this building is
the kitchen, which is fitted up with all
the modern appliances. 1t has one
twelve-foot range, broiler, steam
mush, vegetable and soup kettles,
steam coffee and tea urns. The bak-
cry and huge oven are in the base
ment. After the food is prepared in
the kitchen it is placed on an elevator
and lowered into the basement, placed
on railroad truck and conveyed to
the elevator connecting with the ward
dining rooms.
The laundry and boiler house are
built about fifty feet from the rear of
the kitchen. The boilers are two in
number; one of 7O-horse power is de-
signed for supplying heat for the build
ings, the other of 4O-horse power to
run the machinery, though both can
be connected and operated together
when necessary. The laundry is fur
nished
WITH TROY MACHINERY,
Consisting of one hydraulic washer,
one mangler or centrifugal wringer, an
ironing machine, and which will be
run by steam.
The building is lighted throughout
with Edison's incandescent light. The
dynamo is run by one 4O-horse power
Ball engine. There are over two
hundred lights in the structure.
The building is heated throughout
by steam and supplied with hot and
cold water. The total length OF all the
pipes in the hospital would make a
line over three miles in length. The
water is hoisted from some large
springs situated about 800 feet from